Everychild gives $1 million to Juvenile Justice Center

from the article in Palisadian Post:

Centinela Youth Services, Inc. has been named the recipient of the $1 million 2012 Everychild Foundation grant. The funds will launch and sustain a restorative justice center across the street from three Los Angeles juvenile courts over a three-year period.

Specifically, the grant will be used to create and operate the center, including the funding of dedicated staff and partner agencies for services provided there. Everychild's grant will provide the remaining 60 percent of the $1.6-million total program cost.

....The new juvenile justice center will be named the Everychild Restorative Justice Center (ECRJC) and will operate under the principals of restorative justice, a framework that engages victims, offenders, families and the community in repairing the harm caused by crime. This framework has proven effective in reducing recidivism and has been shown to improve school attendance and decrease drug use, truancy and school suspensions.

'The primary goal of the program is to keep teens from being incarcerated or ending up at a juvenile detention camp where, sadly, outcomes are dismal,' said Caster, now the nonprofit's president.

The Everychild Restorative Justice Center will focus on 1,200 vulnerable, high-risk minority teens by diverting them from the juvenile justice system into the center's programs, including mediation between teen offenders, their victims, and their family members; family counseling to open and reach agreement on improved behavior at school and a more cooperative home environment; educational assistance to encourage teens to reenroll in school; employment services; and referrals to mental health providers.